Card selection nozzle



Sept. 5', 1967 J. E. PAULUS 3,339,849

CARD SELECTION NOZZLE Filed Dec 5, 1963 J6 ki l -56 17m 1 ll/ 1/ l INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,339,849 CARD SELECTION NOZZLE James E. Paulus, Hamilton, Ohio, assignor to The Mosler Safe Company, Hamilton, Ohio, a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 3, 1963, Ser. No. 327,673 2 Claims. (Cl. 239-572) This invention relates generally to card sorting or selecting apparatus and particularly to an improved air nozzle used in a system in which a predetermined card in a pack of cards is located and identified by moving it under the influence of an air stream relative to the remainder of cards in the pack. This application is a continuation-inpart of my copending application Ser. No. 221,844 filed Sept. 6, 1962.

One card selection system of the type in which this invention is utilized may be envisioned as including a stack of cards stored on edge in a suitable container. The top edge of each card is uniquely notched according to a code whereby the notching identifies each individual card in the pack. A plurality of bars is positioned near the top of the pack over an open side of the container for cooperation with the notches of the cards. One or more of the bars may be selected and moved to a position just above the pack thereby holding down all of the cards except the one having notches residing beneath the selected bars. A stream of air from a nozzle is then passed upwardly agains the bottom of the stack of cards in the container. The nozzle is preferably moved transversely relative to the cards so as to insure uniform exposure of all cards to the air stream whereby the selected card is caused to rise until the notches engage the selected bars. As the nozzle is moved across the width of the pack of cards, the selected card is raised above the others and is held in the raised position by friction between adjacent cards. With the selected card held in the raised position, all of the bars may then be withdrawn so that the selected card may be lifted either manually or automatically out of the deck. A card selecting system of this type is disclosed in Novak Patent application Ser. No. 158,811 filed Dec. 12, 1961 and assigned to the assignee of this application.

It has been an objective of this invention to provide an improved air nozzle for use in a card selecting system operable to rapidly start or stop the air stream issuing from said nozzle. The necessity for quickly starting and stopping the issuance of the velocity stream from the air nozzle stems from the desirability of a quick acting card selection system. The speed of the system has become a critical factor in the value of a card selection system with the advance of technology which requires readily accessible and quickly available information. Where the information is stored on cards, the same criteria applies to the selection and withdrawal of the cards. To accelerate a system of the general type described above, the nozzle of this invention incorporates a unique nozzle valve operable to quickly open and allow an air stream to issue from the nozzle and quickly close to shut off the air stream. In the absence of a valve, starting and stopping of the air stream is limited to the time required for the blower motor to start and stop; in most cases a time interval measured in seconds rather than fractions of a second as is preferable.

The nozzle of this invention enables the blower motor to be continuously operating when the machine is in use so that there is no necessity to wait for the blower motor to reach operating speed before a card may be selected and to await its coasting to a stop before a partially selected card may be removed from the file. In the system described above, the selected card is moved to a physically "ice diflerentiated position by the air stream issuing from the nozzle, in which position it is partially removed from the deck. Before the card may be completely removed from the file, the selector bars must be removed from a restraining position over the deck of cards. Of course, the selector bars cannot be moved from a restraining position until the air supply issuing fiom the nozzle is completely shut off or the remaining cards of the deck will be indiscriminately blown into the same position as that of the selected card. However, if the air supply is first shut off, the selector bars may be withdrawn and the preselected card will remain in a physically discrete position relative to the remainder of the cards of the deck as a result of frictional contact with adjacent cards. Thereafter, the preselected card may be grasped and withdrawn.

Still another objective of this invention has been to provide an inexpensive, positive acting valve operable to quickly shut off a fluid stream issuing from a nozzle. To this end, the nozzle valve of this invention utilizes the energy of the velocity stream issuing from the nozzle to quickly and effectively close off the stream of emitted Still another objective of this invention has been to provide an electrically actuated nozzle valve which may be quickly closed to shut off the emission of fluid from the nozzle. To this end, the nozzle of this invention incorporates a pneumatically counterbalanced valve which may be opened by an electrical actuator utilizing a minimal amount of input energy. Because the valve is pneumatically counterbalanced, a smaller electrical coil orv solenoid may be used to actuate it and force it to an open position. An advantage of utilizing a small coil or solenoid is that it facilitates quicker closing of the valve. If the valve is held open by the electrical actuator, it cannot and will not close until the electrical actuator is de-energized and then only after the coil of the actuator has relaxed. As is Well known, the relaxation time or decay time of coils is directly proportional to the size of the coil so that small coils relax quicker than larger coils. Thus the small coil actuated and pneumatically counterbalanced valve of this invention is very quick acting.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be more readily apparent from a description of the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partially schematic, perspective view of one card selecting apparatus of the general type in which the nozzle and valve of this invention are utilized,

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1, showing the nozzle valve in the open position,

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view of the upper portion of the nozzle showing the valve in the closed position. In the card selecting apparatus illustrated in the drawings, a plurality of coded cards 10 are held in stacked relation between a pair of spacer blocks 12 and 13 and rest upon edge supports 11. These spacers 12 and 13 and edge supports 11 may be in the form of a container or a file drawer or any device which would be capable of holding the cards in stacked relation.

The cards 10 are each coded along their upper edge so as to be selectable from the stack according to a coding schedule. In the preferred embodiment, the coding consists of a plurality of vertical notches 14 which extend inwardly from the upper edge of the cards. The notches are so located in the horizontal plane of the upper edge as to be engageable with any one of a plurality of selection bars 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19. The bars 15 through 19 are located over the top of the stack of cards in a position to be selectively movable into a horizontal plane immediately above the top surface of the cards. For purposes of illustration five bars have been shown although any num- Patented Sept. 5, 1967 3 ber of selection bars may be used in a card selection system of this type.

Assuming that it is desired to select a card which has coding notches 14 located in positions which correspond to the selection bars 16 and 18, the bars 16 and 18 are moved into a position immediately above the stack of cards from a withdrawn position behind the stack of cards. A gaseous velocity stream, as for example a low pressure air stream, is then passed beneath the cards so as to blow through the open bottom of the container and force all of the cards upwardly against the bottom edges of the bars 16 and 18. Any card Which has notches in a position immediately below the bars 16 and 18 will be moved upwardly by the air stream to a position in which the notches surround the bars 16 and 18. If only one card 5 is coded so as to have notches in the vertical plane of the selection bars 16, 18, only that card will be moved upwardly above the plane of the remaining cards in the stack. Of course, any other combination of preselection bars could be moved into a position immediately above the stack to select cards having notches corresponding to other combinations of the selection bars. The selected card is held in a physically separated or raised position above the plane of the remaining cards by the friction of the selected card resting against the surface of the adjacent cards on each side, or by friction of a selected card resting against the surface of a spacing member 13 and an adjacent card 10. After all of the cards have been exposed to the gaseous velocity stream so that any card 5 having coded notches corresponding to the selected bars above the stack of cards is positionally differentiated from the remaining cards of the stack, the selection bars are with drawn or removed so that the card may be withdrawn manually or automatically.

The apparatus used to physically separate the cards according to the selected code as determined by the selection bars located above the stack of cards, comprises a gaseous velocity system including a nozzle 20 which is passed below the stack of cards in a direction indicated by the arrow 21 of FIGURE 1. Of course, the stack of cards may be moved relative to the nozzle rather than moving the nozzle relative to the stack of cards. In the preferred embodiment, the nozzle 20 is attached to an adapter 25 which has a depending circular flange 22 that fits over or is received upon a conventional flexible hose 24, the opposite end of which is connected to a conventional centrifugal air pump or fan 23. Adapter 25 terminates in a relatively wide, upper rectangular opening over which is fitted the bottom of the nozzle 20.

The nozzle 20 has three varying width sections, each of which is of rectangular cross section in a horizontal plane. Lower section 27, which is the widest, fits over the upper edge of the adapter 25 and is secured thereto as by a press fit. The middle section 28 is of lesser width than the lower section to which it is connected and is wider than the relatively narrow upper end orifice section 29. The nozzle thus consists of three sections interconnected so as to present a conduit of narrowing width from bottom to top.

The outlet orifice 30 of the nozzle has a length L which is considerably greater than its width W. It is preferably directed in a vertical plane approximately parallel to the vertical palnes of the cards so that as the nozzle is moved laterally with respect to the stack of cards, as in the direction of the arrows 21, the air stream from the nozzle is directed sequentially against the bottom of the cards in the stack. During such movement, the force of the air against the thin bottom edge of the cards and the frictional force of the air passing over the sides of a card suspended in the air stream, forces the card upwardly against the selection bars. Although the action may be sequential as the stream moves across the stack, the air stream need not be exerted discriminately on each card as 'by making the nozzle width very narrow. On the contrary, the air stream may embrace several cards simultaneously without impairment of results.

As may be clearly seen in FIGURE 1, a series of bridges 31 are provided across the outlet orifice of the nozzle. These bridges may be integral with the nozzle or may be made from thin strips of material such as tape extending across the outlet orifice. By interrupting the unidirectional flow of the air, the bridges 31 create areas of relatively static air under positive pressure about each of the bridges and in so doing create areas of turbulence. These areas of turbulence substantially reduce the flutter of the cards suspended or held in the air current issuing from the orifice 30.

Referring to FIGURES 2 and 3, it will be seen that a valve, indicated generally by the numeral 35, is located in the nozzle adjacent the outlet orifice 30. The function of this valve is to open and close the orifice 30 so that the blower 23 may be continually running during operation of the system. Absent this valve, a long delay or lag time is present in the operation of the system because of the time requirement to bring the blower up to operating speed and to stop it.

As may be seen in FIGURE 1, a pair of T-shaped end brackets 36, 37 are mounted upon opposite sides of the nozzle 20 so as to support the valve 35 for pivotal movement during opening and closing of the valve. A rectangular aperture 38 in one side of the nozzle extends between the two side brackets 36, 37. Located within this aperture is a valve pivot rod 39, the opposite ends of which are journalled within apertures 40 in the brackets 36, 37. Preferably, ball bearing raceways 41 are inserted between the ends of the rod 39 and the apertures of the brackets 36, 37 so as to support the pivot pin 39 for pivotal movement with a minimum of friction between the pin and the supporting brackets.

Opening and closing of the orifice 30 of the nozzle is controlled by a valve plate 44 nonrotatably attached to the pivot pin 39 and extending between the end brackets 36, 37 of the nozzle 20. The valve plate 44 consists of a rectangular sheet metal plate approximately the same length as the pivot pin 39 and twice the height of the aperture 38 in the side wall of the nozzle. The plate is bent into a generally L-shape cross sectional configuration with the elbow 42 of the bent plate being fitted over and rigidly attached to the pivot pin 39. One leg 47 of the plate extends downwardly into the nozzle orifice and the other leg 48 of the plate extends laterally outside the nozzle from the aperture 38. In the open position of the valve (FIGURE 2), the interior leg 47 of the valve rests against the inside wall 49 of the nozzle over the aperture 38. When the valve is in the closed position, the interior leg 47 extends across the fluid flow path so as to block the flow of any fluid out of the orifice 30.

With the valve closed as shown in FIGURE 3, the exterior leg 48 of the valve rests against the upper edge 50 of an angulated plate 51 attached adjacent its lower edge to the exterior of the nozzle just below the aperture 38. The plate 51 is of the same length as the aperture 38 so that upon closing of the valve, the outer leg 48 of the valve plate cooperates with the plate 51 to prevent the flow of air out of the nozzle via the aperture 38. Functionally, the outer leg 48 of valve plate 44 is a pneumatic counterbalance which facilitates opening of the valve with a minimum of input energy as is more fully explained hereinafter in connection with the operation of the valve.

With the blower motor energized, opening and closing of the valve is controlled by an electrically actuated movable pin 55 which extends through an aperture 56 in the side wall of the nozzle opposite the aperture 38. One end 54 of pin 55 abuts against the lower leg 47 of valve plate 44 so as to force it against the interior wall 49 of the nozzle when the valve is in the open position. When the pin 55 is withdrawn through the aperture 56, air passing through the nozzle actuates and forces the valve into the closed position illustrated in FIGURE 3. As may be clearly seen in FIGURE 2, the lower or bottom edge of interior leg 47 extends slightly into the air stream when the valve is open. This bottom edge extending into the flow path serves as a lip or catch so that when the valve control pin 55 is withdrawn through aperture 56, the air stream impinging upon this lip or between the lower leg 47 of the valve plate and the interior wall 49, acts to snap the valve plate into the closed position of FIGURE 3. When the valve is fully closed, the lower edge 57 of the leg 47 abuts against the interior wall 58 of the nozzle just below the aperture 56 so as to block oflt the flow of air through this aperture.

The outer end 60 of pin 55 is rigidly attached to the upper end of a fulcrumed lever arm 61, the lower end of which is connected to an actuator 62 of a small solenoid 63. Attached to the top of the solenoid 63 is a hinge plate 64 having a hinge pin 65 which pivotally supports lever arm 61 near its lower end but above the solenoid actuator 62. Thus a very small movement or short stroke of the solenoid actuator 62 results in a much longer stroke of the actuating pin 55 attached to the top edge of the lever arm 61.

Solenoid 63 is mounted upon the top of a supporting block 66 which in turn rests upon and is attached to a lower horizontal flange 67 of the nozzle 20.

To open the valve 35 so as to allow the escape of a gaseous velocity stream created by the blower 23, the coil of solenoid 63 is energized causing its actuator 62 to be pulled inwardly. This results in inward movement of the pin 55. As the actuating pin 55 moves into and across the gaseous flow path of the air stream, it pushes the lower leg 47 of the valve 35 into the open position of FIGURE 2. The valve will remain open so long as the coil of solenoid 63 remains energized. As soon as the coil is deenergized and has electrically relaxed or decayed, the air stream impinging upon the bottom edge lip of the interior leg 47 of valve plate 44 causes the interior leg 47 to move away from the interior Wall 49 of the nozzle allowing the air stream to act against the bottom surface of the leg 47 and move the valve plate 44 into the fully closed position of FIGURE 3.

In order to minimize the energy input necessary to move the valve 35 from the normally closed position of FIG- URE 3 to the open position of FIGURE 2, the valve is pneumatically counterbalanced. To this end, air pressure in the nozzle acts against both legs 47, 48 of the valve plate 44 when the valve is in the closed position of FIG- URE 3. Higher than atmospheric pressure Within the nozzle acting against the interior leg 47 tends to force the plate 44 in a counterclockwise direction toward the closed position. Air pressure acting against the other leg 48 on the opposite side of the pivot places a clockwise pressure against this leg of the plate. Since the interior leg 47 has a larger area than the exterior leg 48, the total force in the counterclockwise direction exceeds and dominates the clockwise force so that the valve remains closed. However, to open the valve it is only necessary for the actuator pin 55 to push inwardly with a force equal to the difference between the counterclockwise and clockwise forces.

The advantage of using this type of pneumatically counterbalanced valve is that it enables a small coil solenoid 63 to be used to open the valve. Small coil solenoids have shorter duration periods of relaxation when de-energized than larger coils. Thus when the coil of solenoid 63 is de-energized, air pressure acting upon the valve will close the valve very quickly, as for example in a fraction of a second. In the particular card selection apparatus illustrated in FIGURE 1, detection of a selected card 5 in a physically discrete position relative to the remainder of the cards of the deck, indicates that a selected card has been located. As soon as the air stream emitted from the nozzle can be shut off, the selector bars 16 and 18 may be withdrawn from over the deck and the selected card 5 removed. By using this type nozzle and valve construction in a card selection system, it is possible to scan and completely remove a card from a deck of several hundred cards within approximately one or two seconds.

From the above disclosure of the general principles of the present invention and the preceding description of a preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will readily comprehend various modifications to which the invention is susceptible. Therefore, I desire to be limited only by the scope of the following claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A nozzle for use in a card selection system in which a fluid stream issuing from the nozzle is used to move a selected card in a deck of cards to a physically discrete position relative to the remainder of cards in the deck, said nozzle having a central conduit and a generally rec tangular orifice at one end thereof, said nozzle having an aperture in one side wall opening into said conduit, a pivot rod mounted adjacent said aperture, a pivotally mounted valve plate mounted on said rod and having one section on one side of said pivot rod extending through said aperture into said conduit, said first section being operative in one position to block the flow of fluid through said conduit and in a second position to permit the flow of fluid through said conduit and said orifice, said valve plate having a second section on the opposite side of said pivot rod located outside said conduit, said second section of said plate being operative to act as a fluid pressure counterbalance upon opening of said valve, an abutment plate engageable with said second section of said plate operative to block the flow of fluid through said aperture when said first section of said plate is blocking the flow of fluid through said orifice, and electrically actuated means operable to open said valve and hold it in the open position.

2. A nozzle for use in a card selection system in which a fluid stream issuing from the nozzle is used to move a selected card in a deck of cards to a physically discrete position relative to the remainder of cards in the deck, said nozzle having a central conduit and a generally rectangular orifice at one end thereof, said nozzle having an aperture in one side wall opening into said conduit, a pivot rod mounted adjacent said aperture, a pivotally mounted valve plate mounted on said rod and having one section on one side of said pivot rod extending through said aperture into said conduit, said first section being operative in one position to block the flow of fluid through said conduit and in a second position to permit the flow of fluid through said conduit and said orifice, said first section being angulated relative to said conduit flow path whereby fluid flowing through said conduit is operative to move said valve plate into the fluid blocking position, said valve plate having a second section on the opposite side of said pivot rod located outside said conduit, said second section of said plate being operative to act as a fluid pressure counterbalance upon opening of said valve, an abutment plate engageable with said second section of said plate operative to block the flow of fluid through said aperture when said first section of said plate is blocking the flow of fluid through said orifice, and electrically actuated means operable to open said valve and hold it in the open position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 226,119 3/1880 Schureman 251-303 2,604,361 7/1952 Yates 239572 X 2,645,448 7/1953 Bugs 251281 X 2,704,648 3/1955 Cobb 251-298 X 3,107,861 10/1963 Penkofl? 239-572 X 3,225,770 12/1965 Lasley et a1. 12916.1 3,228,130 1/1966 Novak 129-16.1 X

JEROME SCHNALL, Primary Examiner. 

1. A NOZLE FOR USE IN A CARD SELECTION SYSTEM IN WHICH A FLUID STREAM ISSUING FROM THE NOZZLE IS USED TO MOVE A SELECTED CARD IN A DECK OF CARDS TO A PHYSICALLY DISCRETE POSITION RELATIVE TO THE REMAINDER OF CARDS IN THE DECK, SAID NOZZLE HAVING A CENTRAL CONDUIT AND A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR ORIFICE AT ONE END THEREOF, SAID NOZZLE HAVING AN APERTURE IN ONE SIDE WALL OPENING INTO SAID CONDUIT, A PIVOT ROD MOUNTED ADJACENT SAID APERTURE, A PIVOTALLY MOUNTED VALVE PLATE MOUNTED ON SAID ROD AND HAVING ONE SECTION ON ONE SIDE OF SAID PIVOT ROD EXTENDING THROUGH SAID APERTURE INTO SAID CONDUIT, SAID FIRST SECTION BEING OPERATIVE IN ONE POSITION TO BLOCK THE FLOW OF FLUID THROUGH SAID CONDUIT AND IN A SECOND POSITION TO PERMIT THE FLOW OF FLUID THROUGH SAID CONDUIT AND SAID ORIFICE, SAID VALVE 